Policies

The Library’s User Conduct and Safety policies are designed to ensure a pleasant and productive environment for study and research for users. Our priorities are:

• A welcoming, comfortable, and safe environment that promotes intellectual exploration and learning.
• Access to well-managed and diverse collections of library resources.
• Access to a knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Ensuring a pleasant and productive environment for study and research requires users to comply with library and campus policies, computer use policies, and with requests made by library staff.

Expectations for behavior

Library users and staff will treat each other with respect and consideration; and respect private and University property.

Food and drink

Reasonable food and drink consumption is permitted on library premises, except in designated areas. Users are expected to dispose of food waste appropriately.

Access to library premises

Users are required to leave the library premises at closing, during emergency situations and evacuations, and whenever requested to leave by Library staff and/or University Police.

Computer use

Library users are subject to Campus Administrative Policy, including the responsible computer use policy (CAP 1203). Use of licensed databases and online services is in most cases restricted to personal and noncommercial use. Use of software applications is governed by vendor licensing agreements.

Responsibility for property

Users are responsible for their personal property at all times and should never leave personal belongings unattended. The Library is not liable for loss or damage to personal property.

Access to the library by children

Children should be accompanied at all times for their safety and well-being by a parent or adult. Children should never be left unsupervised. Parents, not the Library, are responsible for children’s use of the Library, including access to electronic resources.

Video and cameras

In order to assure the privacy of the library users, the use of still and video cameras on library premises requires notification and approval of library administration.

Prohibited Behaviors

In addition, the following behaviors are specifically prohibited:

• Disruptive activity or any behavior that interferes with the ordinary use and operation of the Library.
• Smoking, including vaping and e-cigarettes, is prohibited in or near library premises. (CAP 144.1 k).
• Vending, peddling, and/or soliciting merchandise, services, or employment, without authorization, including soliciting money, distributing pamphlets, petitions, or other materials, and/or conducting unauthorized surveys.
• Under Campus Administrative Policy 353, with the exception of service animals used to guide or assist persons with disabilities, pets are not permitted in any campus building, even if on a leash. (CAP 353, CAP 353.3)
• Removing library materials, equipment, or property from the Kennedy Library without proper checkout or authorization.
• Posting fliers, posters, advertisements, or other materials inside the library without prior approval from Library Administration.

All users are expected to comply with these policies and other campus policies. Library policies are enforceable by all members of the Library faculty and staff.

Use of the Library is a privilege. A person who doesn’t comply with these policies, whether a member of the university community or not, may be asked to leave Library premises and may be refused future access to the Library premises.

Kennedy Library is committed to making both printed and digital content accessible to all patrons as licensing allows.

In collaboration with Information Technology Services (ITS) and the Disability Resource Center (DRC), the Library provides a wide range of tools, from screen-enlarging software to text-readers and more, which can enhance the accessibility of textual documents. Wherever possible, the Library produces accessible versions of electronic course reserves and may be able to assist with other accommodations. Library users are encouraged to ask for assistance at any public service point.

The Disability Resource Center can also provide on-demand conversions of Library resources to students who have registered with them. For more information, see the DRC web site.

Tours

For an overview of the Library including accommodations for special access needs, users are encouraged to make an appointment with their college librarian to arrange a personal tour based on individual interests and needs.

Materials Pickup Locker Height

Users may set a preference in the LuxerOne mobile app for a lower-level locker when retrieving requested items or leave library staff a note when requesting an item.

Kennedy Library serves the following clientele:

1. Registered students, undergraduate and graduate.
2. Faculty (active and emeriti).
3. Administrators and staff members, active and emeriti.
4. Summer session, extension and external degree program for faculty and students.
5. Faculty and students within the CSU System.
6. Courtesy card holders, including alumni and others as determined by the Dean of Library Services.

Beyond the campus, there is an additional obligation on the part of the Kennedy Library, within its available means, to serve as a resource library for the inhabitants of the Central Coast. In an area such as the San Luis Obispo County where there are no large public libraries, the Cal Poly Library is a major resource in the community. As a major regional resource, the library supports the principle of open access to its collections by the community and region. Members of the community can come to the library premises during main library opening hours and can access most databases while on the premises by bringing their own device and signing onto Cal Poly guest wireless.

To meet user needs, Kennedy Library acquires materials according to the following prioritized objectives:

• Procuring and making available materials needed for all instructional programs of the University, including those reference and bibliographic tools required for preparing course materials.
• Identifying and acquiring materials basic to student and faculty research.
• Collecting and making available core materials of reference and general information in subject areas not covered by instructional programs, but essential to an academic library.
• Acquiring and making available materials for general and recreational reading for students, faculty, and staff.

Intellectual freedom and censorship

The faculty and staff of the Kennedy Library recognize that free access to ideas and full freedom of expression are fundamental to the educational process. Accordingly, the library purchases materials that represent a wide variety of perspectives.

The library will not purposely censor any subject or viewpoint in its collections and will resist any attempt at censorship from an outside source. The library endorses the American Library Association Bill of Rights and supporting documents, including formal statements on Intellectual Freedom, Freedom to Read, Freedom to View, Access to Electronic Information, Services and Networks, Challenged Materials, and the Statement on Labeling. The principles of these documents are considered an integral part of this policy statement.

For more information, contact Nikki DeMoville, Senior Manager, Collections Strategy & Discovery

Visit the Campus Administrative Policy (CAP) 270.3 page.

It is the Kennedy Library’s policy to maintain the confidentiality of library users, in accordance with the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics.

All circulation records and other records identifying the names of library users are confidential in nature. The Kennedy Library will not reveal the identities of individual users or reveal what information sources or services they consult.

We protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted through any interactions with the library and library staff, including in-person and online reference.

Additional information:

• Code of Ethics of the American Library Association
• Library Bill of Rights
• Intellectual Freedom Policies

Read the Campus Administrative Policy (CAP) 270.5 on Library Privacy Policies.

Kennedy Library faculty and staff comply with the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law (17 USC 107) and its amendments. The library strongly endorses the “Fair Use” section of the U.S. Copyright Law (17 U.S.C. 107), which permits the rights to reproduce and make other uses of copyrighted works for the purposes of teaching, scholarship, and research.

The Library provides detailed general information about Copyright and Fair Use as they relate to Library services and collections, but also for general faculty and student awareness of the issues and resources; the information on the guide should not be interpreted as legal advice.

Read the Campus Administrative Policy (CAP) 270.4 on Library Copyright Policies.

Overdue Policies

• When materials are not returned by the specified due date, overdue charges will accrue. Overdue charges and other fines are cumulative. They are not erased at the end of a term or academic year. Once your account shows charges of $10.00 or more, you will be required to pay the entire amount before renewing or checking out any materials.
• Fines may result in an academic hold placed on students’ accounts. All charges must be paid to release this hold. Failure to pay these charges may suspend borrowing privileges and delay registration.

Lost or damaged materials, and materials returned with missing components

• Patrons are responsible for returning materials they have checked out. Items must be returned in the condition they were received and include all components.
• Patrons will be billed for lost or damaged library materials, and for items returned with missing components. A notice is emailed, and library privileges are suspended until library charges are cleared. In addition, an academic hold may be placed on the records of current and former Cal Poly students. The suspension and/or hold remain in effect until all library charges are cleared.

Note: Under the California Education Code, it is a misdemeanor to tear, cut, deface, or willfully detain any library materials.

Notification

All circulation and interlibrary loan notifications will be handled via email. Make sure that your email information is current in the Cal Poly Portal.

Returns

All materials loaned by the library must be returned on or before the specified due date.

Renewals

• Materials loaned by the library will renew automatically as long as they are eligible for renewal. If materials cannot be renewed, a notice to return will be issued, at which time materials must be returned to the library.
• Items will not be renewed for patrons with fines, recalled books, or if the item(s) have been requested by another patron.

Recalls

• All materials loaned by the library are subject to recall by the library.
• If an item is not returned by the recall due date listed on a recall notice, library privileges may be suspended and recall charges of $1.00/day will accrue. There is no maximum limit to recall charges.

Special Collections and Archives collects physical, digital, and web-based materials, including oral histories, letters, diaries, audio-visual materials (cassettes, video, film), photographs, scrapbooks, maps, books, journals, pamphlets, ephemera, portfolios, drawings, prints, and works of art. The department also collects digital records, digital surrogates, and archives web content.

Manuscript Collecting Areas

• Personal papers, business and organizational records, records of architectural practices, and architectural drawings of architects and landscape architects documenting the built environment of California, with a special emphasis on California architects.
• Original records documenting the intellectual, cultural, social, political, environmental, and economic aspects of the Central Coast region, including personal papers created by individuals and families, and records created by organizations and businesses.

Art, Graphic Art, and Book Collecting Areas

• Examples of fine letterpress, book arts, and artists’ books by California and international artists and printers.
• Works of art, including prints, paintings, photographs, sculpture, and public artworks, including murals.
• Works on fine printing, graphic arts, and allied arts, including book binding, paper making, etc.
• Works on architects, architecture, landscape architecture, environmental design, and the built environment of California, with a special emphasis on California architects, including Julia Morgan.
• Works on the intellectual, cultural, social, political and economic aspects of local, regional, and state history.
• Published works by faculty and staff on topics related to department collecting areas.

University Archives Collecting Areas

• University publications, general and special, including catalogs and bulletins, newsletters, press releases, and promotional material.
• Records of the administrative offices, academic departments, and governing bodies of the university, including minutes, correspondence, memoranda, and reports.
• Architectural and landscaping plans, blueprints, artists’ renderings, maps, master plans, and other campus planning documents.
• Personal papers, including correspondence, diaries, memoirs, photographs, memorabilia, and scrapbooks.
• Records of student organizations and activities, including minutes, correspondence, publications, ephemera, memorabilia and realia, including scrapbooks, posters, and brochures.
• Audio and visual material, including photographs, photo albums, negatives, transparencies, motion pictures, and audiotapes.
• Material from alumni and their organizations, including organizational records, publications, ephemera, and materials judged to reflect significant events and aspects of the university’s history.

Formats of Primary Source Materials Collected

Special Collections and Archives acquires through gift or purchase unpublished original materials, including, but not limited to, letters, diaries, art and architectural drawings, reports, business records, journals, photographs, motion pictures and other visual media, literary manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, and other materials.

General Considerations for Potential Acquisitions

• Material with enduring historic value and usefulness to the curriculum for teaching and education and community enrichment are the primary criteria for considering potential acquisitions.
• The condition, integrity, and completeness of the material, the volume of material, and the media of the material are also critical considerations when materials are appraised or reviewed.
• The department focuses on developing existing strengths within its collections, identifying complementary relationships between collections, and identifying gaps.
• Special Collections and Archives only accept material for which the department has or will acquire the resources to house, process, access, or preserve according to national professional standards. Endowments may be solicited in collaboration with Cal Poly Advancement if funds are warranted.
• The department maintains an awareness of the existing strengths of other institutions collecting in similar areas, inside and outside California, to avoid competition or costly duplication.
• Digital surrogates may be considered in some cases. Photocopies of original primary sources are not accepted. Special Collections and Archives generally do not accept material on deposit or loan.

Inquiries About Potential Donations

Please contact Special Collections and Archives with donation offers first before shipping any material. Staff will then work with you to determine the most appropriate disposition of the material.

Contacts for potential collection donations

Telephone: 805-756-2305
Email: archives@calpoly.edu

Care of the Collections

Special Collections and Archives archival collections are kept in environmentally controlled, secure, closed stack storage areas. Staff members retrieve collections for research use in a supervised reading room.

As resources and time permits, collection materials are transferred to acid-free folders and boxes and sometimes receive specialized conservation treatment.

Copies in any form provided by Special Collections and Archives are not intended to include or imply permission of additional copyright holder(s). Researchers are responsible for observing all U.S. and international copyright regulations.

No more than five percent of an individual work or collection may be photocopied. Wholesale photocopying of copyrighted works is not permitted. The following guidelines apply:

• No more than one-quarter of a book may be photocopied, with a maximum of 100 printed pages.
• No more than one-half of a pamphlet (more than 32 pages in length) may be photocopied, with a maximum of 50 printed pages.
• Broadsides, brochures, and pamphlets of 32 pages or less may be photocopied in their entirety, if condition permits.
• No more than 50 photocopies per day from manuscript or archival collections.

When requesting and making use of copies, researchers assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or other intellectual property rights belonging to the creator or the creator’s heirs or assigns. Researchers also accept responsibility for communicating with the holder(s) of copyright concerning permissions to quote or otherwise publish material protected by copyright.

Notice Concerning Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, USC) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, archives and libraries are authorized to furnish a photocopy or reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “private study, scholarship or research,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Notice Concerning Copyright of Materials Made Available Online

Special Collections and Archives makes digital versions of collections accessible in the following situations:

• The department makes copyrighted images accessible online for education and research purposes as a legal fair use.
• The department has permission from rights holders to make them accessible online.
• The rights are owned by Special Collections and Archives and Cal Poly.
• There are no known restrictions on use (e.g., orphan works).
• Digital versions of collections are in the public domain.

The digitized collections available online are made accessible to the public strictly for noncommercial educational and research purposes. Please note that some online images are displayed under the exemptions for fair use outlined in Section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law, which allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder for comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Subsequently, items displayed online may be subject to copyright restrictions; their display on this website is NOT an indication of their clearance for other uses by archives patrons. Upon request, Special Collections and Archives will remove copyrighted materials from public view while rights issues are addressed.

Due to the nature of archival collections, the department is not always able to identify rights information. All rights holders are listed, when known. The department is eager to hear from any unidentified rights owners, so that we may obtain accurate information about the department’s collections.

If you have any additional information about an image or recording, or would like to suggest a correction, please contact the department’s Digital Archivist, Zach Vowell, at zvowell@calpoly.edu or 805-756-5710.

Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use particular items in the context of the intended use. All users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Visit U.S. copyright law to learn more.

For more information about securing permission to use the department’s collections, please consult the Reproduction Services policy below.

The Special Collections and Archives Reading Room provides a place where students, faculty, staff, and the public can access the archives holdings. Archives materials do not circulate, and archives staff retrieve archive materials from its storage spaces for researchers to use in the reading room.

WIFI and Camera Policy

Guest WIFI is provided for visitors to campus. Learn how to connect here.

Digital and cell phone cameras can be used with the flash turned off for personal research use with most collections.

When you arrive

Upon arrival at Special Collections and Archives, all researchers must complete and sign the Researcher Registration form. By signing the Researcher Registration form, researchers agree to abide by the rules of use for the collections.

Aside from pencils, cell phones, and laptop computers, all personal belongings must be stored separately in lockers provided for such items. A coat rack is provided for coats, jackets, scarves, and umbrellas. Pencils and loose-leaf paper are provided for use in the reading room. The use of pens, highlighters, or indelible pencils is prohibited.

Please silence cell phones. If you need to take or make a call, please step outside and proceed to an active study floor on levels 1-3.

Staff members will retrieve collections you request in advance of your scheduled appointment and must remain in the reading room.

Food and drink, including water, are not allowed at the reading room tables. An area above the lockers may be used to access water bottles.

Researchers should exercise care when using material:

• Handle and work through materials slowly.
• Do not mark, deface, alter, refold, fold anew, or trace on material.
• Do not place material in your lap, lean on material, or prop material against the edge of the table.
• Gloves may be required at the staff’s discretion.
• Keep material in original order. If material seems to be out of order, note discrepancy to staff rather than editing independently.

All materials must be returned to staff before leaving the reading room for an extended period. Materials may be placed on hold for scheduled return visits.

Special Collections and Archives provide both quick reference and high-quality reproduction services for a fee. Restrictions may apply to items, series, or entire collections due to donor agreements, copyright restrictions, or fragility of materials. We reserve the right to limit or refuse duplication.

Requests for Reproduction for Personal Research Use

Reproductions are provided for personal research and do not include permission to produce, reproduce, publish, exhibit, broadcast, or electronically disseminate the reproduced materials. Permission for these uses must be obtained by separate agreement(s) with Special Collections and Archives. In addition, drawing from the collection may not be used to build new structures.

To order reproductions of materials from Special Collections and Archives for personal research use, please read and complete the Reproduction Request form. Contact archvies@calpoly.edu for assistance.

Send the completed form with a check or money order (made payable to Cal Poly Library) for the total cost of the copies and the processing fee to:

Special Collections and Archives
Kennedy Library, Cal Poly
1 Grand Avenue
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

Orders are generally sent within 10 business days of receipt of payment.

Requests for Permission to Publish

To publish, produce, reproduce, exhibit, broadcast, or disseminate Special Collections and Archives materials, including in electronic formats:

1. Download and complete the Permission to Publish Worksheet and return it to a Special Collections and Archives staff member, or archives@calpoly.edu.
2. Special Collections and Archives staff will create a Permission to Publish Licensing Agreement using your completed Reproduction Worksheet. Fees may apply. Contact archives@calpoly.edu with questions.

Fee Schedule

Additional Fees

* Cal Poly affiliates receive first 100 reproductions per year from University Archives at no cost